


Marked

by fresne



Category: Jewish Scripture & Legend, תנ"ך | Tanakh
Genre: F/F, Ridiculous, Rule 63, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:46:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13140327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fresne/pseuds/fresne
Summary: Davida knew that her true love was out there.She'd even written a psalm. Or twenty. Or several hundred.She had a lot of time on her hands while watching sheep.





	Marked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crepesculum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crepesculum/gifts).



> Hopefully, this is not too ridiculous, but it just kept unfolding like this as I wrote it.

Davida slid her fingers under the leather bracelet that she wore around her wrist to trace once again the shape of her true love mark. The outline of a howling wolf. Somewhere out there was a son or daughter of the tribe of Benjamin, who was her truth. Her heart. The other half of herself.

She picked up her harp and composed another song to a stranger. A hymn of praise to her true love. She sang about the day when her eyes would be opened to color when she met her best beloved. When the world would drain of gray and bloom with hues of light.

She also sang the name written by the Lady-Lord her God over her heart.  

The name of her soul mate. Somewhere out there was a man or woman, who was her truth. The other half of herself, Yonathani.

Surely, she must be one of the fortunate ones where her true love was the same person as her soul mate.

She'd asked and asked ma and pa to let her travel to the land of the Benjamites so that it could happen. So that true love could take its course.

Her parents wouldn't let her go. They said that she was too young. Too small. They worried what would happen if the wolf form of her true love was something enormous like a great wolf, or they were crazy, because all the Benjamites were mad.

Davida shifted her hymn to a dirge, then a funny dirge, because she couldn't keep to sorrow when the world had such possibilities for delight.

A dark shape moved on the ridge above where her flock were grazing on the sweet grey grass. A bear loomed into view. One moment she was holding a harp. Next Davida was dropping a stone into the leather strap of her sling. She didn't rush it. Moving her arm down in a circular motion at her side and then looping it over her head in another circle. At this distance, the infinity shape was a better choice for accuracy.

The stone arched through the air and struck the bear straight between the eyes sweet as honey. She cheered as the bear fell to the ground dead.

Grimaced, because now she'd have to drag the thing back down the mountain to her village. But meat was meat.

Somehow she managed it and guided the flock and didn't lose her harp, which was a miracle.

The village was in an uproar. Ma bustled around. She took one look at the bear and did she say, "How amazing. You killed a bear."

No, she did not.

She said, "Good, all seven of your brothers and sisters have returned from the front and I don't know what to feed them, but a bear will just about do it." One moment, Davida had been standing there with a bear. Next, she was bearless.

She composed a song about the whole thing. Of course, the first thing her oldest brother Eliab said over a mouthful of meat was, "Why didn't you turn into a lion? Rip the things throat out. That's what I would have done."

"Don't be silly," said her oldest sister Abinadab. "Davida's too small." Abinadab was ridiculously proud of the fact that she took after Pa. He was originally from the tribe of Ephriam before he married Ma. Abinadab's shift form was a massive long horned ox. Mostly useful for pulling the wagon.

Shimma chimed in. "Davida would have become a kitten, not a lion." Shimma raked the air with a lion's paw, because she was a show off about how she could do partial shifts.

"Now, now," said Ma. "Davida couldn't help being small.

Davida didn't let it bother her. She composed a song about Kitten Woman, the little known story of a lost Judge, which had her family in tears with laughter.

Of course Shimma forgot half her gear in her tent when she left in the morning.

Ma and Pa fussed about it.

Ma said, "Shimma can't fight Philistines without her battle armor." Ma held up the flank armor and the reinforced claw blades that Pa had forged for Shimma.

"I could take it to her," said Davida casually. Oh, so casually. Where the army was were sure to be where the royal court was. The king was from the tribe of Benjamin. The tribe of her best beloved. "If you'd like. I could take some extra food too. I think they forgot to take the bread you baked for them. And all the rounds of cheese too."

Ma didn't want Davida to go.

Pa didn't want Davida to go.

But it wasn't as if either of them could go. Chores to do. Work to be done.

"Shimma really shouldn't be without her armor," said Davida with the most innocent expression of all innocence on her face.

Pa said, "You go. You drop off the armor. You come right back."

"Sure thing," said Davida. She did not add out loud that if she met her soul mate and true love that this promise was like empty air. She didn't need another lecture on how not all soul mates were lovers and not all lovers were for marriage. After all, this promise was between her and the Lady-Lord her God, and her parents didn't need to know about it.

She grabbed the food and the armor and was on the road fast as the fastest runner of the tribe of Naphtali when they were in the form of gazelles. She had nearly completed a song on the subject by the time she reached the army.

There were people everywhere. Warriors. Bards. Priests. Nervously, Davida adjusted her bracelet. For it to be revealed in front of a priest would mark her as impure.

Surrounded by a crowd, suddenly the world dripped with color. Davida had no way of knowing which stranger was her best beloved. Her heart pounded to know that love was near.

In the crowd, she saw a woman with eyes like doves. Lips like a scarlet ribbon. Hair like the night sky. Like the milky way in full flood. With long limbed legs like the cedars of Lebanon. With two breasts like twin fawns. Davida opened her poet's mouth, certain that this might very well be the one. She said, "Hi."

The woman, the glorious stranger, said, "I see that you are of the tribe of the Judah. Have you come to join the army? May know your name be known so that we can welcome you to our ranks?" She pointed at the armor in Davida's sack.

"Oh, no this isn't mine. This is my sisters. She forgot it when my brothers and sisters came to visit. So I'm coming to bring it to her. I'm too young to join the army. The youngest. Of seven. Well, eight, if you count Zereb, who was born after Pa had to shelter for warmth with a woman of Zebulun. Zereb takes after her ma and is a dolphin shifter and doesn't live with us, because we herd sheep and dolphins aren't good at herding sheep. Although, I guess they're good at herding fish, which might be like sheep." She stepped on her own foot to stop herself before she burst into flame in shame.

A man standing next to the vision said, "We don't have time for the village idiot. Your Highness, you must convince your father to retreat."

The princess, because of course she was a princess, sighed. "Yes, I must focus on the matter at hand. We cannot retreat in the face of the Philistines, or our lands will be lost." She sighed again. "But perhaps a hero can be found. I will go to speak to my father." The vision slipped away through the tents.

"Better lands than lives," said a woman in armor stamped with the olive trees of Asher.

"Do you plan growing your olive trees on the ocean?" asked Davida. "Because that's where we'll be driven by the Philistines. I can tell you I don't plan on moving in with my sister."

The Asherite ground the butt of her spear in the earth. "You don't know what we're facing. The Philistines have found a giant, Goliath. He's surely a descendant of Nephilim to be their champion. He's promised to feed the flesh of any who faces him to the birds of the field."

"He also mentioned fermenting our blood for his wine," said a man glumly. Given the man was wearing robes embroidered with the grapes of Manasseh, clearly he took wine seriously. Davida could think of a dozen ways that a man who could make vines grow could topple a giant, but perhaps they were weak vines at first.

"I'll face him," said someone. Davida realized that someone was her. She cleared her throat. "Take me to the king and let him know he has a champion in me."

"You!" said the Asherite. "You're a child."

"I'm a woman grown," protested Davida pulling herself up to her full height, which was admittedly not much.

"Davida!" said the extremely unwelcome voice of Eliab. "What are you doing here? Who is watching the sheep? You just came to watch the armies while there's work to be done. Not everything is about finding your soul mate."

With a clank, Davida dropped Shimma's armor. "It seems I'm here to face a giant."

A man coughed. "I can take you to the king, if you're serious."

General Abner took Davida to the king's tent.

The king was surrounded by advisers. Everyone was talking. The glorious princess was saying something to the king. Unfortunately, about a dozen other people were also saying things.

While Davida was standing there wondering how to interrupt, Sammi, an old woman who'd come to Davida's village once and dumped a shekels worth of oil on Davida's head for some reason, shouted, "Everyone shut the fuck up!"

Everyone stopped talking.

Sammi pointed at Davida. "This little baller has something fucking important to say and the Lady-Lord our God wants every last fucking one of you to shut the fuck up and fucking listen to her. Can you manage that or do we have to fucking have a fucking unkindness of ravens show up and fuck you all up and shit?"

King Saul waved his golden scepter at Davida. "The prophet Sammi has spoken." He raised his eyebrows all the way to his crown. "Well, what is it kid?"

"I'll face Goliath for you," blurted Davida.

"You!" King Saul walked over to her. He was at least four hand spans taller than she was. "You're a kid. Have you even had your first menses?"

"Dad!" said the princess of glorious delight. "You can't ask that kind of thing."

Davida suppressed the urge to blurt about her monthlies. Instead she repeated. "I'll face the giant. I've faced down bears and lions with my sling to protect my flocks and the Lady-Lord our God has always kept my aim true."

"I can see why you wouldn't have transformed into a lion." King Saul looked her up and down. "You'd transform into at most a large cat."

"What did I fucking say?" Sammi clomped over to them and poked King Saul with a staff. "Did I fucking say you should talk? No I the fuck did not. This little baller is going to fucking fuck the fucking giant the fuck up."

That apparently was that. King Saul tried to loan Davida all his armor, which Davida tried on, but she could hardly move. Plus, since she was of Judah and not Benjamin, the shapes were all wrong.

Davida tried to think of something to say to the princess before she left, but words had forsaken her. She left as she'd arrived. She picked up some river stones on her way to the battlefield.

It wasn't hard to spot the giant. He was enormous, but to Davida, practically everyone was. Goliath laughed when he saw her. He said, "Girly girl. Is this all the Isrealites with all your powers have to face me? I'm going to grind you up for my bread. Drink your blood for my wine."

Davida hummed to get on key. "You might want to have a bit more care, cuz soon you'll be food for the birds of the air." She raised a finger. "Not that I'm done. Soon I'll have won. Sorry, not sorry. Your birth was a curse and you'll be food for the earth." She snapped the fingers of both hands to make her point.

"Is that all you've got little girl girl?" Goliath shook his sword, which was bigger than Davida. "Change your shape if you want, but it won't change I'll be killing you soon.

He was still shaking his sword when Davida made five quick over arm circles with her sling. He was close, so power over accuracy was needed. The river stone plonked right between his eyes. He dropped like the rock that felled him. The Philistine army gasped. She dropped another rock in her sling and casually swung it. They ran enmass with army of the Israelites in various forms in pursuit. She saw the glorious princess transform into a beautiful brown wolf. She was magnificent the way she leapt on the enemy and tore at them and made them bleed brilliant red blood.

This didn't however help with the task at hand. Davida looked at Goliath's body. His big, huge body. "I suppose I should bring proof." She pursed her lips. "Although, I don't have to bring the whole thing." She picked up his huge sword. She might have been small, but she could lift twice her size in sacks of grain. She removed his head from his body.

There was a lot of blood. It wasn't her best look when she went back to camp. But in all fairness, none of the warriors looked much better. The bards were looking very disturbed. She waited in the king's tent with Sammi. She played a few of her newest songs. Eventually King Saul returned. Davida pointed at the head and the sword.

King Saul looked at the sword. He looked at the head. "Who are you?"

Davida curtsied, because it seemed like the thing to do. "I'm Davida of Judah."

The princess gasped. "Davida." She looked at her father. "Davida of Judah." She turned to Davida. "I am Yonathani of Benjamin." She smiled hopefully. "Is that name known to you?"

Davida's hand flew to her breast. "It is." She dared not say more lest she be declared ritually unclean.

In that moment, she felt the Lady-Lord her God prick her with her great needle of fate. With deft stitches, Davida's spirit was sewn to Yonathani's spirit. She saw the thread that emerging from her heart that bound her to Yonathani.

She could not have said how she came to stand before Yonathani. With trembling hands, she lifted Yonathani's hand to lay it upon her breast. Upon the flesh where her heart beat as a herd of horses on the slopes of Mount Tamor.

"Soul mates. Excellent, you can serve as a body servant to my son and guard," said King Saul.

Davida placed her hand, slowly, trembling upon the place where the glowing thread that bound them entered into Yonathani's chest.  

"I've always been glad that my daughter's soul mate had a woman's name, so that there could be no interference in her marriage," said King Saul, who apparently didn't care about ritual uncleanliness. He continued, "As a princess her marriage must be for matters of state. She is promised to a prince of Moab to form an alliance with them."

"My great grandmother was from Moab," whispered Davida, gently kissing the palm of Yonathani's hand.

"Platonic love between soul mates is a gift from the Lady-Lord our God," said King Saul.

Davida's lack of height seemed then a blessing from the Lady-Lord her God. For her lips were perfectly placed to lay a solemn kiss upon Yonathani's beating heart.

"Oh, for fucks sakes." Sammi said, "Get a fucking room."

"I must…" Yonathani laced her fingers through Davida's hand, but not before laying a kiss upon her fingers. "make a covenant with Davida in my tent."

"Good idea. She can start acting as your body servant right now," said King Saul. He called after them. "Love with no need for physical intimacy is a beautiful thing."

"Oh, for fucks sakes," said Sammi, "what does the Lady-Lord need to do, have a dove crap on both their heads in the same pattern for you to understand."

Yonathani led Davida to her tent. There they solemnly disrobed. On seeing Davida's bare body, Yonathani said, "I will love you as myself." With deft fingers, she demonstrated that love until Davida was singing with it. Davida returned that favor and more.

When they had done, Yonathani dressed Davida in her own tunic. "So that I can enfold you before the world." She gave Davida her own a sword and belt.

Davida gave Yonathani a song. "So that I can echo inside you before the world."

She sang it before the whole court so that everyone would know of her love for Yonathani. That night she served Yonathani in her tent. For the sake of propriety, they placed an idol in Davida's bed with goat wool upon its head.

Davida decided that she must win King Saul's favor so he would set aside the treaty with the King of the Moabites and allow Yonathani to swear a covenant of marriage with her.

Every task that King Saul gave her, Davida accomplished. She did not need the mass of a lion to fight with the fury of a lion in battle. Not when Yonathani was there to rip out the throats of their enemies with her.

Often after the battle, Davida would curl up upon Yonathani's back, warmly nestled in the fur. They would commune in the manner of the soul bound. Strumming the strings that connected their hearts.

Her pa and ma were a little upset by the turn of events, but had to admit Davida seemed happy.

Davida defeated tens of thousands of Philistines in King Saul's name. When he requested that she bring back the left sock of every enemy, she orphaned socks. When he demanded their tunics, she brought back bundles of fabric. When he demanded unfortunate portions of their anatomy, which only applied to the men in their army, she did that too.

But every victory made King Saul seem more angry.

Benjamites had a reputation for madness. For rage. For howling at the moon.

King Saul was very much a Benjamite. The most Benjamite person ever.

King Saul threw a spear at Davida when she was playing the harp. He threatened to kill Davida. As Davida looked at the spear embedded over her head, she reflected that things were really not going the way she wanted.

She protested to Yonathani, who said, "Of course, my father isn't trying to kill you. He doesn't do anything without consulting me. It's just an evil spirit. Probably a demon. That happens all the time, I've heard." She grimaced. "It could be moon madness."

"Tonight is the festival of the new moon. I will hide in a field in my lion form." If by lion she meant very small lion. "If King Saul asks about me, tell him I want to go home to sacrifice to the Lady-Lord with my family. If he gives permission, howl from the top of the tower and I'll return. If he becomes angry, then come to me in the field."

Davida went to hide in the field and Yonathani went to the feast. The new moon was dark on the field. The light was as grey as before Davida had found love. Davida lay quietly in those shadows.

Yonathani padded slowly, sorrowfully into the field in her canine form. As always, Davida was struck by Yonathani's beauty. The silkiness of her fur like a flowing river. How her teeth were like jagged mountain peaks. But still, her presence could only mean one thing. They went to a copse of trees and naked as the Lady-Lord their God had made them, they took their human forms. Yonathani said simply, "He threw a spear at me when I asked and called me the daughter of a rebellious woman. He said that he will marry me to the prince of Moab immediately." She placed her hand upon Davida's breast. "You have to flee, but if I'm parted from you. If I must marry another…"

"The string will tear at our hearts," said Davida. "I fear that I will die if I'm parted from you."

"And I will die if I part from you."

They contemplated this fate.

"We should consult Sammi."

They crept together on four feet into Sammi's home. The prophet was cooking a rabbit over the fire. She threw each of them a sliver. She said, "You're a couple of fucking morons." She rolled her eyes. She made a gesture over them. "By the fucking power vested in me by the fucking Lady-Lord I pronounce you fucking married."

"Can you do that?" asked Davida. Except it came out in the form of a meow.

Sammi needed no interpretation. "I'm a fucking prophet, so I'd fucking say that I can fucking marry anyone the fuck I want to." She scritched Davida behind her ears. "When the fuck are you going to stop fucking around and start ruling?"

"What?" asked Davida, who by now accepted that she had to be naked in front of a prophet of the Lord if she wanted to hold a conversation.

"I anointed you Queen over a fucking year ago."

"Really?" said Yonathani.

"That's what that was?" asked Davida. "With the oil?"

"Oh, for fucks sake. Doesn't anyone fucking listen to me. Yes, you're the Queen. Yonathani's your princess consort. Have fun. And if I fucking tell you to kill every last one of something you'd better well fucking do it. I have fucking reasons. Really good reasons."

Sammi shoved them out the door with a roast rabbit for each of them.

They went back to Jerusalem.

Davida crept into the rooms of some of the people she'd been fighting along side. Yonathani did the same.

They quietly had King Saul locked in a room without spears. As it turned out, everyone had been getting a little worried about the whole situation.

General Uriah the Hittite said, "He tried to run me through when I suggested marrying a local girl."

General Abner sniffed. "What about me. He actually managed to stab me in the leg."

Queen Davida began her reign with a decisive victory against the Philistines. She was so filled with joy that she flung off her clothes and danced naked through the streets of Jerusalem singing praises to the Lady-Lord her God. Yonathani dancing at her side.

It was the beginning of a glorious reign. After all, the Lady-Lord could have wanted no other way for the story to unfold.


End file.
